


The Temptation of Rex

by LotusRootsAndBambooShoots



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Brief Poppi, Emotionally Stunted Mythra, F/M, Rex Being a Good Lad, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:15:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25891957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LotusRootsAndBambooShoots/pseuds/LotusRootsAndBambooShoots
Summary: Mythra and Pyra have a proposition for Rex in the Land of Morytha. Rex's answer to them may not be what they expect, but it might be what they need.
Relationships: Hikari | Mythra/Rex
Comments: 23
Kudos: 64





	The Temptation of Rex

**Author's Note:**

> This is a strange kind of Chapter 8 where Rex and Mythra run into Brighid and Poppi like normal, but not Jin until later, after this fanfic's end.

Morytha didn't seem so cold anymore, after Rex and Mythra met up with  _ some _ of their comrades at least- Brighid and Poppi were a welcome addition, though of limited capability without their Drivers. Even if Rex could bond to any Blade now, that didn't change that he was just one Driver. As for the rest of their friends, and their enemies, Jin and Malos… who knows where they were.

As nice as the added company was, though, Pyra and Mythra kind of wished they were still alone. There was something they wanted to talk about with Rex, and it would have to be alone.

"I think we need to take a break," Rex had said, pulling Mythra back out of her thoughts. There was a space that looked almost like a terrace, with a building in front of them that somewhat resembled the cafe in the commercial district of Torigoth. Some kind of… ancient restaurant? Either way, Rex led them onto the terrace, which still had what seemed to be pre-Alrest chairs. They seemed sturdy enough that Brighid hazarded sitting on one, (after Rex had tested it for her first. It wouldn't do for the Jewel of Mor Ardain to fall on her ass in front of the Aegis,) and it proved capable of holding her.

While the others experimented with the chairs, Mythra moved for the building and ducked her head in. More ruined tables and furniture, something that looked like it may have once been a counter, and a door to the back. A snap of her fingers conjured a ball of light ether, and she pushed open the far door to reveal a mostly empty room. Whatever was once here was long gone. Perfect.

Tapping momentarily into the power of Pneuma, Mythra formed a new ether construct in the room before leaving. She was all set up, now she just needed her Driver.

* * *

"Rex. Can I get a minute?"

Rex had been chatting about something or another with Brighid and Poppi, and when she asked, Brighid's eyebrow rose just a tad.

"Sure!" Rex answered, turning back to Brighid and Poppi. "Can I ask you guys to take it easy out here for a bit? But do come get us if there's trouble."

"Of course. Your blade needs you." Brighid answered.

"Poppi keep eyes open and sensors sensing!" Poppi said.

Rex smiled and turned to follow Mythra, but even after they disappeared into the old shop, Brighid's gaze didn't leave the door.

* * *

"So, what's up?" Rex asked as they entered the abandoned store, but Mythra didn't stop, and calmly opened the door in the back and went through, not even slowing down when Rex called "Mythra?"

He crossed to behind the counter and opened the door, and what he saw was… unexpected. The room was mostly empty, with the detritus of ages long past shoved to the outer walls. In the center of the room, was what looked like a two-person wide bedroll, laying on the ground with an ether lamp next to it. The white and green color schemes of both closely resembled his new Master Driver armor, which was all he needed to know. For some reason, Mythra had decided to materialize a bedroom out here. She was up to something, and he wasn't sure he liked it. "...What's all this?"

"Sit down," she answered, dodging his question while patting the bedroll next to her.

_ 'Not a good sign,'  _ Rex thought, warily, but he acquiesced and sat.

For a few minutes, Mythra just stared ahead, apparently thinking something over. She sat in an unusual fashion for her, on her knees and with her hands on her lap. One could almost mistake her for demure if they just knew nothing about her. "Rex, uh… sorry."

"...For what?"

"For… all the  _ shit  _ we've put you through, Rex. Honestly, you deserve way more than a half-assed sounding apology like that. I'm just no good at this kind of thing…"

"Mythra…" There was that gentle scolding tone. "I know we've had some ups and downs, but it's like I said; even rough patches are valuable experiences."

"Rex,  _ no… _ this isn't about times i was rude to you or slapped you or… things like that. Rex… we left you. Abandoned you. Twice."

Rex scratched at the back of his neck, searching for a way out of acknowleging that she was right. There wasn't one. "Well… you two did walk out once or twice, but it's okay."

Mythra turned her head so fast in her shock that she almost whipped her Driver in the face with her golden locks. "' _Okay!?'_ Rex, that is NOT okay! That was… That was a _betrayal._ _Two_ of them. You _shouldn't_ forgive us for even one, let alone two."

Rex was undeterred. He stood, silently crossing to sit back down right in front of her, where she couldn't look anywhere but at him. "Well, my forgiveness isn't up to you, now, is it?"

Another pause while Mythra stared at him, searching his face like she was looking for where he was hiding his resentment. "I… I really don't get it. I mean, I'm not  _ surprised,  _ this is you we're talking about. But… you don't get it. I…  _ we,  _ don't deserve this. We've been lying to you from the very start. From the moment that you and Pyra met in that dream of Elysium."

He nodded, understandingly. "I know. She said you wanted to go to Elysium, but hid the 'why'."

"We manipulated you into bonding with us. We looked in your mind without permission and we saw you dreamed of saving everyone by going to Elysium, so we used that. A relationship built on a lie…"

"But the truth came out. Do you still plan to ask the Architect to… you know?"

The fact that he couldn't even say it was a fresh pang for Mythra. "No. We won't," she answered, eyes downcast.

"Mythra… can you look me in the eyes?"

Mythra clenched her teeth, but looked up, staring directly into Rex's golden eyes. "Rex, we haven't been honest before, but I promise you; we are not going to try to die anymore. I swear."

Rex smiled that damn stupid smile that she hated to love so much. "Good. I believe you."

Tears were pricking at the edges of her eyes. "Rex… I'm going to say something. And I want you to listen to all of it, okay?"

Rex nodded.

"We have lied to you, abandoned you, and failed to trust you… honestly, you should have just left us, let us die either of those times, or just abandoned us somewhere like we did you… but you didn't. You stuck with us even when we… when I didn't think we deserved it. You… you promised us that you would take us to Elysium, without knowing that we were setting you up for so much suffering, but we… we never made a promise to you. So… Rex. If you'll let us, we want to stay by your side."

Mythra paused to take a deep breath and gather her thoughts, and her courage. "We'll take you to Elysium, Rex. We'll finally make your dream a reality, and we'll do anything to help you, and we'll never leave your side again like we did in Fonsa Myma and Tantal. Both of us, Pyra and Mythra, swear it. Do you… accept?"

Rex was taken aback. He knew she had some things to get off her chest, but this was… really something. "I-I mean, of course! But you don't have to-"

"Please, Rex. Don't tell me we don't have to do this… we  _ want _ to do this. You don't know how much you've done for us and how important you are. Addam never treated us half as well as you do, and… and I never expected that I would actually be  _ happy  _ that I came back. We have  _ a lot  _ to repay you for. So please let us try."

Rex's jaw set, as he understood what she really wanted and needed. "Alright. Then I accept. I… care for you both, deeply. So whatever you want to do to try to repay me… I'm game, I guess!"

Mythra let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. That was all the permission she needed. "G-good. In that case… come and get me, Rex!"

He was about to ask what she meant, but he couldn't speak anymore when she shifted off her knees to sit back and spread her thighs apart, her thick legs acting like a funnel pulling his line of vision down to her (thankfully still clothed)  _ other _ core.

"I know you're always staring at me whenever you can get away with it." She continued, running two fingers seductively down her thigh, "Pyra too. It's okay though, because we both figure it's high time you get your reward for all you've done… And about time  _ we  _ show some proper devotion to our driver. So you can do  _ whatever  _ you want with us. If you want me to switch out for Pyra, that's fine too, I won't be insulted. You just tell me what you want and we'll do it as best we can!"

This was crazy. Insane. Yeah, he knew quite well, this was what was typically considered "every man's dream." Hell, to be completely honest, it was  _ his  _ dream too, and had been for months now. But…

This wasn't right. Prying his eyes off Mythra's legs, he could see the trepidation in her face. The building anxiety as he made no move. Mythra was doing her best to look sexy and ready for him, but he knew that she had never had sex with anyone either. She and Pyra were as virginal as he was… and she was afraid.

"Mythra, no."

She tensed, but pulled herself up and shifted from sitting to all fours, crawling a pace closer to him. "You don't have to be shy, Rex. W-we'll start out slow and learn togeth-"

_ "I said no." _

The firm command from her Driver had the Blade's rear hitting the bedroll before she knew what was happening, putting a stop to her failed seduction. "You… you don't want it?"

Rex stood resolute. He knew the right thing to do, and in the face of temptation he would not falter. He looked Mythra right in the eye and said "I want you both more than anything. But not like  _ this." _

The Aegis blinked. He… Really did want them after all? But then why…? Even as Mythra's cheeks colored at his admission, she mostly felt confused. "What do you mean 'like this?' What's the matter this time!?"

"It's… it's  _ wrong. _ You're all… messed up, emotionally i mean, right now. It would be like takin' advantage."

"Rex,  _ we're  _ the ones offering, you're not taking advantage of us."

Rex sighed. "Mythra, yes, it would be takin' advantage. And besides that, I…"

He trailed off and Mythra chanced approaching him again. "What?"

Rex looked down, and removed one of his gloves. Reaching out, he laid his hand on Mythra' shoulder, skin to skin. Mythra's breath grew short at the contact. She had never felt his bare skin on hers before. "You're only offerin'… ah, yourselves to me," he said, snapping her attention back to him, "because you think you owe it to me. Because you feel it's the only way you can pay me back... But I don't want that!"

Rex flushed as well, breaking his eye contact. "I only want that from you if it's out of love… what you're asking me to do is to  _ use  _ you, like a tool. I  _ won't  _ do that to you, to either of you."

A long pause stretched between them as Mythra stared at Rex in stunned silence. His hand squeezed her shoulder once, and then slowly released and returned to his side.

Mythra blinked once, and dropped her face into her cupped hands, hair falling like a curtain around her. "I can't believe it," she mumbled, "I am  _ such _ an  _ idiot." _

Rex just scooted back to her side and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He wondered at first if Mythra was crying, but there was no sound of sobbing or shaking. She was just humiliated, and trying to hide from him.

"Come on, Mythra. It's okay. You've been through a lot in the past twelve hours. You're not an idiot." He spoke softly, rubbing circles on her back.

"I beg to differ," came her morose, groaning reply. "We got so caught up in this idea we didn't even think about it. I thought it would be a just repayment and Pyra thought it would be romantic."

"Pyra thought it would be  _ romantic?  _ Really?"

"Oh yeah," she said, finally able to lift her still-red face from her hands and use her fingers to comb her hair back. "She's embarrassed as hell about it now, of course. I think she might have gotten her head a bit too much into those romance novels you picked up for her back in Mor Ardain. Well, her side of  _ our  _ head, anyway."

A silent moment passed. "Rex, did you… mean it, when you said you did… 'want' us? I mean, you meant that s-sexually?"

Rex was red, but he didn't back down. "Of course I did. I don't want anything from either of you except what you want to give out of love and trust. And only when you're one-hundred percent comfortable with it."

Mythra fidgeted, before speaking again. "So… about that. There  _ is _ something that we want to tell you, and we think we're comfortable with it."

"Well I can't wait!"

Mythra took a deep breath. "Rex… I love you. Like, a lot. Full disclosure, I thought I loved Addam too. But I think I was actually just, like… emotionally dependant on him. He was my first driver, and… well, all I had. I didn't have a frame of refrence for people, or relationships… but now I do, and I feel… totally,  _ totally  _ different about you than I did him, or anyone else. Rex, I love you, for being you. And for giving me my… my life, back. So… however you feel, thank you."

Rex had patiently sat and listened to her ramble without interrupting, and the very second she closed her mouth he wasted no time in reaching over and wrapping her in a tight embrace. The warmth of Rex's touch melded with her, matching the warm embrace he had on her scarred, healing heart. "Mythra, I love you too," he answered, and some of the scars that marred her heart began to ebb away.

"Rex…" she breathed, bringing up her own arms to squeeze him back, and the two pulled slightly away, still holding each other at arm's length… before they came together again.

The kiss they shared was tender, and controlled. Their blazing passions for each other were present, but held back, like a furnace instead of a house fire- just enough to keep them warm.

"Pyra is a bit jealous of me for telling you first," Mythra said with a giddy smile once they parted. "She'll be looking for her own moment, I'm sure."

"So… both of you, huh? I'm certainly not complaining, but is that going to be okay?"

"For you to be in a relationship with both of us at once?" She answered. "Sure. We're both two halves of one whole. It would be weirder if it was only one of us you were dating."

Rex nods. "Alright. Just want to be sure. So… should we go rejoin Poppi and Brighid now?"

"Shit, forgot about them."

* * *

Regrouping with Poppi and Brighid was slightly awkward, given that they hadn't noticed until they were outside that their clothes were somewhat rumpled, but Poppi didn't understand it and Brighid only smiled as they fixed it.

Once on the road again, Brighid pulled Mythra aside.

"I hope you realize," she said, "how one-in-a-million that boy is."

Something seemed a little off, and Mythra pressed it. "You were spying on us."

Brighid scoffed. "Please. I spy on everyone. I'd tell you what the Emperor keeps under his bed, but then I'd have to kill you."

That was an attempt to distract her, either with curiosity or by challenging that she could carry out that threat, but Mythra didn't take either bait. "Yeah sure. So what's your findings, then?"

"My findings are that he's a fine young man with a good head on his shoulders. Many boys his age might have simply taken you up on your little offer."

When it came to Brighid, Mythra couldn't help but be caustic, like it was five hundred years ago. "Right. I'm aware. So now you're going to tell me I better be careful, right? Maybe that you'll kick my ass if I ever hurt him?"

Brighid sighed. "No… I don't need to."

Mythra turned her head, looking at her on the side. "...Why?"

And the Jewel of Mor Ardain smiled. "Because if you really love him, you never will. And if you don't… well, I'm sure Nia won't mind picking up the pieces."

"...I'll keep that in mind."

**Author's Note:**

> This was difficult to write, I've never felt rustier than in this fic to be honest. The credit for the idea of this fic goes to reader Dell, who left it as a comment on Amongst the Concrete. I thought the idea of Mythra coming on to Rex and being turned down because it wouldn't be right was a good one, because Mythra and Pyra are more emotionally... Weird, than most people really think, I believe. As for Brighid, I just thought it would be fun if she peeked in. Kind of an asshole move, but Brighid is kind of an asshole.
> 
> Special thanks to Dell for the idea, and I hope everyone that read this far enjoyed it! Please leave a comment if possible, I read every comment I get and reply to everyone *once.* I have to set a limit or I'll get in lore debates in comment threads 20 posts long... But I always read your replies to my replies!


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